1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a multiprocessor system verification circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Verifying the operation of an integrated circuit design is generally an extremely complicated procedure. This is especially true in the field of multi-processor designs, where a microprocessor unit is combined with other processor units, such as DSPs (digital signal processors), coprocessors or other microprocessor units.
Verifying the operation of an integrated circuit may take several forms. One type of verification is generally referred to as “design debugging.” Debugging techniques are used to resolve weaknesses in the design of an integrated circuit. Another type of verification is generally referred to as “production testing.” The objective of production testing is to identify product which does not meet performance requirements (or to sort product into one of several categories having different production requirements). There are two types of production testing. Functional testing looks for functional differences due to design defects. This type of testing is typically performed using ATPG (automatic test pattern generation) patterns or custom functional test patterns. Performance testing identifies parts that work at a specific speed rating.
Matters are further complicated when design of one of the processor units is from a different source from other processor units on the integrated circuit. This can occur, for example, when a company wishes to combine its microprocessor design with DSPs or coprocessors from another company to provide a specialized integrated circuit. Generally speaking, neither company will want to provide detailed specifications to their designs. Accordingly, verifying the operation of each processor can become problematic.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for verifying multiprocessor systems.